First Visit (50-52 AD). Paul first visited Corinth about 50 AD, during the last phase of his second missionary journey, after starting churches in Macedonia -- Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea (Acts 16-17). "Previous Letter" from Paul is no longer extant. Paul, who is now in Ephesus (52 to 55 AD), wrote to Corinth rebuking vice and fornication by church members (1 Corinthians 5:9-11). This letter is referred to by scholars as Corinthians A. Report to Paul: Chloe's people reported to Paul about the party spirit and quarrels at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:11). Letter to Paul: Stephanas, Fortunatas, and Achaicus probably brought Paul a letter that reports on problems at Corinth, with specific questions about marriage, divorce, food sacrificed to idols, spiritual gifts, and the collection he was organizing for the Jerusalem believers (1 Corinthians 16:17). © Kootenai Community Church | Adult Sunday School: 2 Corinthians | Series taught by Cornel Rasor, Pastor | Any unauthorized alteration of this material is prohibited. kootenaichurch.org

New Testament Corinth

Salutation (1:1-11) Unseen Glory: The Hope of the Ministers (4:16- 18) In Spite of an Unimpressive Appearance (10:1-11) Greeting (1:1-2) Earthly Tent: Confidence in the Face of Death (5:1-10) Invasion of False Apostles into Paul’s Territory (10:12-18) Thanksgiving for the Comfort of God in Affliction (1:3-11) Vindication of Authenticity of Paul’s Apostleship (11:1–12:13) The Message of Reconciliation (5:11–6:10) The Comfort of God (1:3-7) Justification of Paul’s Labors in Corinth (11:1-15) Motivation: The Love of Christ (5:11-15) Deliverance from Death (1:8-11) The Bragging Rights of a True Apostle (11:16–12:10) Message: Be Reconciled to God (5:16–6:2) Apologetic/Defense of Apostleship: Answering the Critics’ Charges (1:12–7:16) Boasting about Paul’s Sufferings (11:16-33) Commendation: The Hardship of the Apostleship (6:3-10) Boasting about Paul’s Revelations (12:1-6) The Defense of Paul’s Conduct (1:12–2:13) Paul’s Appeal to the Corinthians (6:11–7:4) Boasting about Paul’s Weaknesses (12:7-10) Explanation of Altered Plans (1:12–2:4) Mutual Affection Requested (6:11-13) Summary: The Proof of a True Apostle (12:11- 13) A Clear Conscience Claimed (1:12-14) Equal Yoke (6:14–7:1) A Planned Profitable Visit (1:15-22) The Planned Third Visit (12:14–13:10) Mutual Affection Repeated (7:2-4) A Canceled Painful Visit (1:23–2:4) Promise not to be a Burden (12:14-18) Meeting Titus in Macedonia (7:5-16) The Forgiveness of the Offending Brother (2:5- 11) Fears about the Unrepentant (12:19-21) Exhortation to Give: Collection for the Believers in Jerusalem (8:1–9:15) Warning of Discipline from Paul (13:1-4) Missing Titus in Troas (2:12-13) Expectation of Self-Examination (13:5-10) The Necessity for Generosity (8:1-15) The Nature of a True Apostleship (2:14–7:16) Final Exhortation and Greetings (13:11-14) The Example of the Macedonians (8:1-5) The Glory of the Ministry (2:14–4:6) The Exhortation to the Corinthians (8:6-15) The Triumph of Christ (2:14-17) The Mission of Titus to Corinth (8:16–9:5) The Product of the Ministry (3:1-3) The Commendation of Titus (8:16-24) The Superiority of the New Covenant (3:4-18) The Need for Readiness (9:1-5) The Light of the Gospel (4:1-6) The Results of Generosity (9:6-15) The Frailty of the Ministers (4:7–5:10) The Benefit to the Giver (9:6-11 Vessels of Clay: The Trials of the Ministers (4:7- 15) The Praise to God (9:12-15) Polemics: Affirmation of Apostolic Authority (10:1–13:10) © Kootenai Community Church | Adult Sunday School: 2 Corinthians | Series taught by Cornel Rasor, Pastor | Any unauthorized alteration of this material is prohibited. kootenaichurch.org

“2 Corinthians is very different from the letters between which it was written, 1 Corinthians and Romans. Whereas each of those letters is, in its own way, systematic and orderly, 2 Corinthians is, on the face of it, uneven and digressive. It is no surprise, therefore, that many scholars have suggested that 2 Corinthians is really a collection of letters put together later as a single letter.” “Second Corinthians presents many inspiring texts and passages to the reader and teacher of God’s Word. A quick survey reveals approximately eighty individual verses lending themselves to extended meditation and exposition, apart from the sixty or so constituent paragraphs of the letter. This letter is a rich lode for the edification of God’s people.” © Kootenai Community Church | Adult Sunday School: 2 Corinthians | Series taught by Cornel Rasor, Pastor | Any unauthorized alteration of this material is prohibited. kootenaichurch.org

“That the Corinthians had received his former letter with a proper spirit, that it brought them to repentance, led them to excommunicate the incestuous person and call forth on the part of the larger portion of the congregation the manifestation of the warmest affections for the Apostle relieved his mind from a load of anxiety and filled his heart with gratitude to God. On the other hand, the increased boldness and influence of the false teachers, the perverting errors which they inculcated and the frivolous and calumnious charges which they brought against himself filled him with indignation. This accounts for the abrupt transitions from one subject to another, the sudden changes of tone and manner which characterized this epistle. When writing to the Corinthians as a church obedient, affectionate and patient...obedient, affectionate and penitent, there is no limit to his tenderness and love. His great desire seems to be to heal the temporary breech which had occurred between them and to assure his readers that all was forgiven and forgotten and that his heart was entirely theirs.  But when he turns to the wicked designing corrupters of the truth among them, there is a tone of severity to be found in no other of his writings, no not even in the epistle to the Galatians. Erasmus compares this epistle to a river which sometimes flows in a gentle stream, sometimes rushes down as a torrent, bearing all before it. Sometimes spreading out like a placid lake, sometimes losing itself, as it were, in the sand and breaking out in its fullness in some unexpected place. Though perhaps the least methodical of Paul's writings, it is among the most interesting of his letters as bringing out the man before the reader and revealing his intimate relations to the people for whom he labored.” © Kootenai Community Church | Adult Sunday School: 2 Corinthians | Series taught by Cornel Rasor, Pastor | Any unauthorized alteration of this material is prohibited. kootenaichurch.org